First Lady Britainy Beshear, Kentucky Pediatric Cancer Research Trust Fund presents grant for childhood cancer patients at UK
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 24, 2025) — First lady Britainy Beshear joined UK HealthCare physicians and leaders from the Kentucky Pediatric Cancer Research Trust Fund (KPCRTF) Board on Sept. 23 at the University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital to present $500,000 to the UK Markey Cancer Foundation for the Care Advancing Treatment Succession (CATS) Financial Assistance Fund for pediatric cancer patients and their families. Kentucky State Senate Majority Leader Max Wise and Rep. Nick Wilson were in attendance to give remarks highlighting their support for the KPCRTF and the work being done at UK. The first lady also recognized September as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
“In Kentucky, we prioritize our kids and our families,” said Beshear. “To every child battling cancer, please know you are not alone. You are loved, and this month and all months, we celebrate you and your loved ones.”
“Kentucky remains a national leader with our commitment to supporting childhood cancer families through our continued investment in funding research to ensure our families receive the best care,” said Elizabeth Turner, chair of KPCRTF. “We are extremely grateful for the continued support.”
The CATS Financial Assistance Fund supports pediatric cancer patients at the DanceBlue Kentucky Children’s Hospital Hematology/Oncology Clinic from birth to age 29 by covering essential family expenses to improve treatment adherence and overall well-being. The CATS Fund provides families with funding for housing and utility assistance, transportation assistance, medical equipment, nutritional supplements and an emergency fund for natural disasters based on social work-identified needs.
This $500,000 investment in the CATS Fund is in addition to another $500,000 announced in May. In total, in May, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced $1.9 million from the KPCRTF in financial and psychosocial support grants to organizations across Kentucky supporting children living with cancer and their families.
“Markey Cancer Center clinicians and researchers work closely with Kentucky Children’s Hospital as they deliver exceptional care for our youngest patients,” said Mark Evers, M.D., director of the UK Markey Cancer Center. “We share expertise, research capabilities and, most importantly, a commitment to ensuring that Kentucky families receive world-class cancer treatments and research right here at home. This funding supports that mission by helping families focus on what matters most — their child’s healing and recovery.”
In 2024, Gov. Beshear worked with legislators to secure a record $14 million to fight childhood cancer over the biennium: $10 million for research funding through House Bill 6 and $4 million to support the families of Kentucky’s pediatric cancer patients through House Bill 1.
UK HealthCare is the hospitals and clinics of the University of Kentucky. But it is so much more. It is more than 10,000 dedicated health care professionals committed to providing advanced subspecialty care for the most critically injured and ill patients from the Commonwealth and beyond. It also is the home of the state’s only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, a Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit that cares for the tiniest and sickest newborns and the region’s only Level 1 trauma center.
As an academic research institution, we are continuously pursuing the next generation of cures, treatments, protocols and policies. Our discoveries have the potential to change what’s medically possible within our lifetimes. Our educators and thought leaders are transforming the health care landscape as our six health professions colleges teach the next generation of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health care professionals, spreading the highest standards of care. UK HealthCare is the power of advanced medicine committed to creating a healthier Kentucky, now and for generations to come.